Processing from home

- In my course Time Management Fundamentals,I emphasize the importance of processing.Processing is the act of decidingwhat you're going to do with something,when you're going to do it,and where its home is.Processing begins when you take one itemout of a gathering point.A gathering point is a place where unresolved,unprocessed items gather.For instance, an inbox or an email inbox.When working from home,processing takes a slightly different flavor.

Unless there's some legal restriction against it,I strongly recommend you processboth personal and career-related items at the same time.Your time spent processing will be reducedbecause you'll get into a solid rhythmand you'll be able to see the relationshipbetween both work and personal demands on your calendar.When scheduling processing time on your calendar,schedule enough time to process all itemsfrom your work life and your personal life.

This means that my Time Management Fundamentalsrecommendation of scheduling five hours a weekfor processing may need to be a little bit higherwhen working from home.Perhaps seven hours a week is a good average.These seven hours of processingcan take place at any time in the week that you want,as long as as it is a consistent, recurring schedule.Again, if your work requires youto keep work and personal separate,then you'll need two separate processing times,but it's best to avoid that if possible.

Also, since we're going to be doing both togetherat the same time, it's idealfor home-based workers to combineyour work and personal gathering points.There's no need when you're working from hometo create two different inboxes.Just put everything into one inboxand you'll process them all during processing time.In fact, if you live with other people,such as children or your spouse or roommates,encourage them to put any itemsthat they want you to look at in your inbox.

Not only will this reduce clutter at home,but it will help you stay more focusedand know that you don't have to worry about those thingsuntil the processing timethat is scheduled on your calendar.This rule of intermingling work and personalapplies to all your other gathering points.While you might have separate personaland work email addresses,you want those both to go into the same inbox.This will streamline your work radicallyand leverages one of the greatest advantages that you haveby working from home.

Now let's talk about homes for a moment.Part of processing is decidingwhere something belongs, or its home.A home is a final resting place.Unlike a gathering point, it's not somethingthat you must review every single week.It can be anything like a drawer where you put cablesor a filing cabinet where you havethousands of different files.The funny thing about homesis that we want to follow the opposite rulewhen creating them.

Don't intermingle, but keep them separated.For example, if we have a set of A to Zalphabetical files for work-related papers,then we also want to have a separate setof A to Z files for home-related matters.Even for things such as office supplies,it's wise to have a set that is readily on handand close to your home workspacethat are designated just for your workand not for home personal use.

Why?A couple of reasons.First, it saves you a lot of timebecause you're not running around the housetrying to find that one pair of scissorsthat your child borrowed for thatmagnificent flower artwork that they madefrom tracing their hands.I'm speaking from personal experience here.No, you want to have yours and they have theirs.That helps you stay focused by allowing youto stay in your workspace.Also, from a financial or tax standpoint,it makes it much easier for you to justifyand create a separation for any expensereimbursements as well.

One final note,you might also want to create a home of an outboxfor every important person that you live with.For example, I have an outbox at my workspacefor my wife.That way, when processing, if I come acrossanything that I need to give to her,is just put it into that outbox.Then, at the end of processing,I walk the outbox to her inbox,where I put it in so that she can process it.

This also allows me to stay focusedin my workspace for extended periods of timebecause I'd have to get up and walk downstairsand put something in her inbox every single timeI have something for her.By mingling gathering pointsand separating homes,you'll streamline your workspaceand become more organized and efficient.

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Released

2/7/2018

Working from home is a wonderful opportunity, but time management can be a challenge. With so many demands on your time and attention, it's a tricky balancing act to stay productive. In this course, bestselling author and productivity expert Dave Crenshaw offers best practices for anyone who works full-time or occasionally from home. Dave begins by showing how to set up a dedicated workspace for maximum productivity, including tips on setting up your computer to ensure you stay focused. Then Dave walks through how to craft your daily schedule for peak productivity and plan meaningful breaks to avoid burnout. He explains how to collaborate with remote coworkers, including how to use virtual meetings productively. Finally, Dave offers advice for working parents and other caregivers who might be balancing professional and personal responsibilities in the home.